


mcyt oneshots (requests: closed)

by SoliRavioli



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Awkward Flirting, Confessions, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Heavy Angst, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Insane Wilbur Soot, Mental Breakdown, Mentions of Cancer, Multi, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, Reminiscing, Running Away, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Doubt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:26:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27604867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoliRavioli/pseuds/SoliRavioli
Summary: a oneshot book with all of your favorite minecraft youtubers.last oneshot posted:karlnap panic attack angst/fluff
Relationships: Alexis | Quackity/GeorgeNotFound, Alexis | Quackity/Karl Jacobs, Clay | Dream/Dave | Technoblade, Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound, Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound/Karl Jacobs/Sapnap, Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound/Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream/Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream/Wilbur Soot, GeorgeNotFound/Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Karl Jacobs/Sapnap, Minx | JustAMinx/Niki | Nihachu, Niki | Nihachu/Wilbur Soot
Comments: 41
Kudos: 427





	1. Rules

Hello, and welcome to the show.

Some rules to go over before you request:

I won't write anything for people who don't want to be shipped (or who I don't believe want to be shipped.)

I will be adding trigger warnings on particularly angsty fics so please do the same on your request.

I will write anything from fluff to extreme angst; I will not be writing smut at this time. 

The only angst type requests I won't be doing include suicide, murder, yandere-esque themes, and anything involving drugs.

No racist, homophobic, or anti semitic comments on other people's requests.

I won't be writing anything including rape, incest, abuse and things similar to that caliber.

i do write platonic oneshots, so feel free to ask about those too

And most importantly, don't be shy. I love writing things for other people and you giving me something to write would make both of us happy (or sad, depending on the genre.)


	2. (Dreambur Angst) Our Last Melody

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wilbur didn't realize that his new favorite melody would be one of his last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wilbur and Dream are around 16-18 years old, so sorry if that throws anyone off.
> 
> There's also been very little proofreading and editing done on this particular oneshot so if anyone sees any mistakes please let me know.
> 
> tws: minor mention of mental illness, that's pretty much it

Wilbur checked his phone once more as the glass doors of the hospital slowly slid closed behind him. “213, 213, 213…” He reread the text message he had been sent from Phil a few minutes ago once more under his breath and slid his phone into his back pocket.

The hospital lobby was crowded, to say the least; some people walked briskly down the hall, empty bags of saline solution being wheeled behind them, while others stood around the waiting room, either to be admitted or gain permission to see a certain patient. A nurse rushed past him with an empty wheelchair, causing him to almost trip over himself.

A quiet huff escaped Wilbur’s lips, but his annoyance was short-lived as the ambiance of the hospital began to hit him. The dreary atmosphere combined with the grim expressions coating people’s faces as he walked by made his skin crawl. Unease showered over him as he walked up to the receptionist’s desk and made eye contact with an older woman, who was typing excessively loud on her keyboard.

“Name and room number?” She asked. Her voice was a bit gruff-Wilbur couldn’t help but compare it to Techno’s-and her dull tone caused him to shrink back slightly.

“Tommy Innit, and uh, C213?” The woman nodded and pulled a sheet of paper out of her desk. She wrote what looked to be a list of names and typed something in her computer before pointing to a large doorway to her right. “Through that hallway and up four flights of stairs on the left.”

Wilbur nodded. The directions already seemed to be imprinted in his head as he muttered a quiet “thank you” and pushed past a large group of guests towards his destination. The wooden doors were somewhat heavy as he swung them open with a soft heave, and the loud crash that echoed through the hallway as they flew shut caused him to jump.

Wilbur couldn’t help but frown as he reached the staircase. He wasn’t fond of stairs; he found them kind of exhausting. He sighed quietly and grabbed onto the banister and began climbing.

 _How many flights of stairs did she say?_ He internally thought. His eyebrows furrowed; apparently he didn’t remember the directions as well as he thought. Nonetheless Wilbur continued to climb until he was greeted with a large iron door.

The door opened up into another lobby, although this one was a bit smaller and a lot more lively than the one downstairs. Even the nurses seemed friendlier, as they greeted guests with a soft smile and answered questions with a cheerful lift to their voices.

He gave one of the nurses an awkward smile as he passed, and continued to walk down the hallway until he eventually stopped at a door on his right. The nameplate above it read 213, and Wilbur heaved a sigh of relief before opening the door.

Immediately he was greeted by soft sunlight filtering through a large window on the opposite side of the room. Stereotypical pain scales and doctor notes decorated the walls, and a large bunch of machines Wilbur couldn’t name sat in the corner. A large curtain shielded the hospital bed from view, but a silhouette could be seen from the opposite side.

“Ms. Kelly?”

That was _not_ Tommy’s voice, Wilbur thought.

He froze at the sound of the other’s call and blindly searched for the doorknob with his right hand. He watched the other sit up in his bed and begin to draw the curtain back. “Um, sorry, I’m not-”

The curtain was already pulled back by the time he stammered out a sentence out and Wilbur was met with one of the prettiest boys he’d ever seen. He had dirty blondish hair and dull green eyes, and- were those _freckles_?

Wilbur’s face began to heat up with embarrassment and he cleared his throat. “Uh, hi. Sorry to intrude, but I’m looking for my brother?” The boy’s expression shifted from surprised to curious as he eyed Wilbur up and down before lifting his head to meet his gaze. “Well, I’m not your brother,” he chuckled softly. “This is B213. You might be looking for C213.”

Wilbur resisted the urge to slap himself across the face. He began to internally cuss himself out for being an idiot and not knowing how to count before the boy cleared his throat. “What’s your name?” He asked. “Huh?” Wilbur blinked at him for a moment, mouth open like a fish out of water. “Uh, Wilbur. Wilbur Soot. How about you?”

The boy hummed curiously before nodding. “Dream. Nice to meet you.”

Okay, so the name fits the face. Wilbur thought. “Yeah, nice to meet you.” The boy-Dream-smiled at him before leaning back in his bed with a soft sigh.

Wilbur was tempted to take the motion as him being dismissed, but something about the other boy made him want to stay. Maybe it was his demeanor, the way he sat slumped over and defeated. Or maybe it was the aura around him that Wilbur could only describe as… lonely. Either way, he hesitated before letting go of the doorknob and sitting in one of the leather seats next to the bed.

Dream turned his head towards the brown haired boy with a raised eyebrow. “Uh, don’t you have a brother to go see?” He chuckled awkwardly. Wilbur shrugged and leaned forward. He put his elbows on his knees and used his hands as a headrest. “It’s okay. He’s not deathly ill or anything, just a broken bone.”

Dream nodded slowly before straightening his head and closing his eyes. The two sat in silence for a while, the only noise coming from the soft chirps of birds outside and the occasional mumbling of hospital workers as they passed by the room. Eventually the brown haired boy sighed and nodded towards a book sitting on the nightstand next to the bed.

“What’s that about?”

The two talked for what felt like days, but in reality it was only for about an hour. Dream had talked excitedly about the book and the author (Wilbur believed the name was Sun Tzu), and about his love for passion for video games, particularly Minecraft, along with a vast selection of other topics while Wilbur had shared his love for playing the guitar and random things about his family.

Eventually he received a long string of texts from Phil asking if he was okay, and why he was taking so long. The brown haired boy frowned at his phone screen, causing Dream to pause in the middle of one of his rambles, which Wilbur had picked up on to be one of his habits.

“Oh, it’s my dad. I have to go see my brother.” Wilbur grimaced at Dream’s immediate fall in his expression and sighed apologetically. “I can come back, if you want.” He offered. Dream’s eyes lit up once more, causing Wilbur to smile. “Well, I mean, if you’re ever free, I’d be happy to see you.” He laughed softly. “And, uh, thanks for staying with me for a while. I haven’t had any company besides the nurses in a while.”

Wilbur just simply nodded and rose in his seat. He raked his eyes over Dream once more and for once, he felt his instincts overpower his brain. He gave the other male a little pat on the head and quickly ran to the door and out the room, leaving the other to stare after him in shock.

As soon as the door closed behind him Wilbur felt his face light up with heat. A small sound escaped his throat as he nearly buckled over in both embarrassment and excitement. The gesture wasn’t even particularly intimate, but Wilbur could feel adrenaline coursing his veins as if he had just had his first kiss (which he hadn’t, but that was unimportant to him right now.)

Wilbur forced his emotions back down into his chest with a small heave. He glanced back towards the door he had just left from, and his expression morphed into a small smile. Maybe I will come back, he thought to himself as he walked back towards the way he came and up the stairs to his brother’s hospital room.

_______________________

“Wilbur, dinner’s ready!”. A few moments of silence followed, causing Phil to half turn towards the stairway that led to the upstairs part of the house. He let out a quiet sigh and shook his head before turning off the burner and walking upstairs.

He knocked on the door to Wilbur’s room, somewhat put off by the lack of noise inside. His son was a lot quieter than his two other siblings, but typically when his door was closed he was either playing video games with Tommy or practicing a new song. This time it was eerily silent.

“Will?” He called again; no response.

Phil opened the door to see a brown haired mop on the floor, holding a book with a familiar black and red cover. “Is that Techno’s copy of Art of War?” Wilbur nodded, not looking up from his book. “Wh-why?” A loud chuckle escaped Phil as he tried to comprehend the fact that Wilbur- _Wilbur,_ out of all his sons-was reading Art of War.

“I dunno,” Wilbur replied. “It just sounded interesting.

_______________________

“Wilbur?”

“Hello, Dream-ster.” Wilbur closed the door behind him as he greeted the blonde haired boy with a cheerful grin. He rushed over to the chair he had sat in yesterday and quickly settled himself. A maroon backpack hung off his left arm, which he shrugged off and dropped on the floor with a soft plop.

Dream laughed softly at the other’s entry quip and turned to face him. Wilbur couldn’t help but notice that the boy looked a lot more energetic than he had the other day; his face was a lot brighter, and his eyes seemed to sparkle when he met Wilbur’s gaze. The look of pure joy embedded in said eyes as he looked at him caused the brown haired boy’s cheeks to take on a soft pink tone.

“What’s in the bag?” Dream tried to shift forward to try and look inside, but was quickly reined back by a large machine on his right. Wilbur smiled at the boy and motioned for him to stay where he was. He dug his hand into the bag and pulled out a red and black book, along with a small black and white notebook and a pencil.

Dream lifted an eyebrow at the book and flicked his gaze towards his own copy on the nightstand. “You have a copy of Art and War?” He giggled. “You don’t seem like the type of person who’d be into that type of writing.”  
Wilbur just simply shrugged and leaned back in his chair. He set his notebook and pencil on the armrest and decided to rest his elbows on his thighs. “To be honest, I’m really not. But I figured I’d try and relate to you a little bit more.” A quiet laugh escaped him. “It was a bit hard convincing my brother to give it up; he follows Sun Tzu’s quotes almost religiously.”

Dream’s eyes seemed to swerve between Wilbur and the book in his hand. He paused for a moment, seeming to take in the other’s words before his mouth morphed into an almost sad smile. “I, uh. Wow. That’s… really nice, actually.”

Wilbur raised an eyebrow. “Is it? I thought that was what friends did for each other. They listen to their friend’s interests and hobbies and things like that.”

Dream hummed. “I mean, it is. It’s just kind of surprising.” The blonde haired boy rested his head against the pillow and averted his gaze. “We only met a couple days ago. Plus, people don’t really like to become friends with someone who’s..”

The sentence was left unfinished as Dream closed his eyes and went silent. Wilbur waited for a few more moments before just shaking his head. “Well, frankly, why you’re in here is none of my business. All I can hope for is that you get better.” He swung his right leg up and over his other and opened the book in his hand halfway.

“With that being said, I would love to discuss Chinese war tactics with you, Dreamie.”

_______________________

Wilbur hummed softly to himself as he walked down the sidewalk to the hospital. A few weeks had passed since he’d accidentally found himself in Dream’s hospital room but to him it had felt like months. The two had grown close exceptionally quickly, and Wilbur would probably bet that he was beginning to develop a small crush. After all, how could he not? The sickly boy was funny, and polite, and overall nice to be around; not to mention his stunning appearance.

Tommy had been released about a week after he and Dream had met, leaving Wilbur with significantly less excuses to go see the younger boy. He had made up tons of different scenarios as explanations for why he was home late after school-He had study hall, his bus was late, there was a stray dog in an alleyway once (Wilbur was particularly proud of that one)-before Phil just waved him off with “as long as you’re safe and not doing drugs, I trust you’re not doing anything that would warrant my concern." Needless to say the amount of visits to the hospital skyrocketed after the 5th “stray dog” excuse.

As Wilbur walked he couldn’t help but slip into his thoughts. He remembered an instance a few visits ago, and just the mere thought of it caused his face to heat up.

_“You know, you don’t have to come see me this often.” Wilbur looked up from his notebook at the sound of Dream’s voice. “I know.” He said. “I just like seeing you, I guess.” The blonde let out a soft laugh and shrugged. “I mean, I appreciate it and all, but I don’t want to be friends with someone who’s hanging out with me out of pity.”_

_Wilbur let out a bewildered laugh. “I’m not friends with you because I pity you, Dream.” Dream returned the laugh with a small smirk. “Then what’s the reason then? Because this looks an awful lot like pity to me.”_

_The brown haired boy smiled in a way that could only be described as cheeky before he replied. “Maybe because I just like hanging out with you. You’re pretty fun to be around, you know.” Dream leaned forward in his bed, the abandoned book in his lap folding with his torso as he took a closer look at Wilbur’s face._

_The intense eye contact caused Wilbur to flush slightly. He attempted to fight the heat down but being the observant jerk was Dream had caught it and leaned backwards with a smug smile. “Yup, I knew it. You think I’m hot.”_

_That was not a sentence WIlbur was expecting to ever hear come out of Dream’s mouth literally ever, much less directed towards him. A small surprised noise escaped his throat, causing Dream to wheeze._

_“Dude, you are turning so red right now.” Another long wheeze sounded from Dream as he doubled over in laughter. Wilbur blinked rapidly, trying to comprehend what the hell had just been said, before rolling his eyes and turning back to his journal._

Yeah, he had it bad.

Wilbur was already used to the path to Dream’s room, and found himself flying up the stairs with ease. What he was not used to, however, was the small trio of adults in front of the door that led to it. They seemed to be avidly discussing something; two of them leaned close together, tension built up in their shoulders and back, while the other had a grim expression.

The boy frowned, his excitement at seeing his new friend quickly being replaced with curiosity and worry. He continued down the hallway, but instead of directly approaching the three he just sat down in one of the spare chairs in the waiting room and pretended to busy himself with his phone. Wilbur wasn’t close enough to hear their entire conversation, but he could hear small snippets as their voices carried down the hall.

“Concerned… worsening… treatment… might have to move…” Wilbur nearly shot up in his seat as he continued to listen in. None of it sounded good, especially the part about what he believed to be Dream’s condition becoming worse. Dream hadn’t gone into detail about it that much, just a simple “something with my lungs” when Wilbur had asked, so he hadn’t decided to push it. But judging by the conversation the nurse and who he assumed to be Dream’s parents were having, it was apparently more serious than he originally thought.

Eventually the conversation came to an end, and Dream’s parents shared a look at the door that shielded their son away from the rest of the hospital before his mom shook her head and began to walk away. As soon as the couple passed him and were on their way down the stairs Wilbur hastily stood from his seat and power walked down the hallway. Barely contained panic caused his movements to quicken as he opened the door to his friend’s hospital room and let it swing shut behind him.

“Hello, Dream? Are you in here?” Wilbur’s call was interrupted by a soft sniffle coming from behind the curtain shielding Dream’s hospital bed. Wilbur bit his lip anxiously and tiptoed closer to the sound.

“Dream? It’s me, Wilbur. I’m here for you if you need me.” Another sniffle sounded, this one followed by a quiet sob. “Wilbur?” The sound of Dream’s voice made Wilbur’s heart want to crack. “Yeah, I’m here. What’s wrong?” He kept his tone soft, as if he was talking to a kitten or any other type of baby animal.

The curtain was quickly drawn back and Wilbur was immediately pulled into a hug. The position was a bit awkward, as he was leaning over the side while Dream only had his upper torso exposed, but he didn’t bother getting into a more comfortable position. He simply let Dream hold him, giving him occasional pats on the back and head and whispering soft affirmations in his ear.

Eventually the sobs began quieting down and his grip on Wilbur’s jacket loosened. He took this as a chance to slowly separate from Dream, but not without securing their hands together to keep physical contact. He walked around the bed and sat delicately on the edge.

“Hey, I’ll be right here, okay? When you’re ready to talk about what’s wrong, I’m here to listen.” Old sessions with his therapists began to fill Wilbur’s head as he waited for Dream to fully calm down. He recollected old advice he had gotten from many years of struggling with mental illness or breakdowns, and helping someone who might be going through something similar; wait for them to become verbal, show them that you care and you’re listening, and try not to make them feel any less because of the situation.

One final cry sounded from Dream as he desperately fought to become any sort of resemblance to calm. Soon enough the room quieted and the only noise that could be heard was the occasional sniffle.

A quiet laugh escaped Dream, causing Wilbur to look down at his heaving figure. “I’m not gonna make it, Wilbur,” he whispered. “The doctors, they- everyone knows. I never had a chance of leaving this place anyways.” He continued to laugh, but eventually it all came crashing down again with another sob. “They said my cancer’s getting worse. They don’t have a cure, WIll, it’s- I’m gonna die.”

Wilbur froze. The words slowly but surely processed in his brain, and he could feel the tears begin to build up in the back of his eyes. He bit his lip at the sudden tidal wave of emotion that hit him and forced a hand to begin combing through Dream’s hair. “Don’t say that, man. You’ll-” Wilbur inhaled sharply. “You’ll be just fine, okay? You’ll be fine.”

Dream’s watery laughter slowly began to subside as Wilbur massaged his scalp with one hand and held his hand with the other. The pair sat together in a somewhat peaceful silence, but the pain barely contained from breaching the surface yet again was anything but.

_______________________

It turned out that Dream was in fact correct; the progress that he had made the first few weeks Wilbur came around had quickly regressed within mere days and he was steadily getting worse as the hours passed. Wilbur was unbelievably glad spring break decided to roll around and give him free time to visit, because if it hadn’t he wasn’t sure what he would do.

Soon enough Dream’s voice became raspy and he couldn’t talk as much as before without feeling immense pain in his lungs. This was all told to Wilbur via the whiteboard on the wall that noted his symptoms. Dream had reluctantly resorted to speaking as little as he could, causing the visits to be a lot less cheerful and more Wilbur talking about any topic he could think of that came to mind.

One day, however, Wilbur’s daily visit was a bit more eventful than the others. He entered Dream’s room with his guitar case in tow, causing the blonde haired boy to raise an eyebrow in curiosity. Wilbur situated one of the chairs in the room diagonally across his friend’s hospital bed, but still close enough to clearly see his face. Dream looked deathly ill, to the point where he nearly blended into the bedsheets if it wasn’t for his eyes. The sight made Wilbur’s heart clench.

“I mentioned that I play the guitar a while back, yeah?” Wilbur’s voice almost sounded alien when he heard it in his own head. Dream attempted to nod, but it was more of a half heave than anything. Nonetheless Wilbur continued, pulling open his journal and reading over the words once before smiling at his friend.

“Well, I decided that it would be a good idea to, ah.” Turns out admitting it out loud was harder than Wilbur thought. “I decided to write a song for you. And while it’s not my best work, I will admit, I think the amount of feeling I put into it more than makes up for-”

The expression Dream wore was similar to that of the day they read Art of War together. His eyes glimmered with excitement Wilbur hadn’t seen in what felt like ages, causing a bashful smile to appear on his face. “I think it more than makes up for it. I’ve been writing it for quite a while, actually, and it turns out you were the perfect inspiration.”

He played around with the knobs at the end of the instrument before he began to play. The melody was soft, and incredibly delicate, as if one harsh note could shatter the peaceful atmosphere that had quickly formed as soon as his fingers strummed across the strings.

Dream attempted to hum along to the tune but quickly quieted down. The stress on his vocal cords might’ve been too much, even for a song as quiet as this. Wilbur frowned apologetically over at the blonde, but he didn’t really seem to care. Instead he continued to sway with the melody, only pausing to listen to the occasional lyric Wilbur sang.

The next few moments were magical, at least for Wilbur. The pure happiness that graced Dream’s features coupled with the slowly setting sun outside made the brown haired boy feel content.

However, all moments must come to an end, and eventually Wilbur was forced to play the final chord. A beat of silence passed between the two before Dream began clapping furiously. Wilbur’s face flushed at the nonverbal praise and began putting his guitar.

“Wait…” Wilbur looked up at the sound of Dream’s voice as he pointed towards the guitar. “One more… song?”

Wilbur thought for a moment before smiling softly. “Of course. One more song.”

_______________________

Wilbur ended up staying the night at the hospital that night. He was unaware if any of the doctors or nurses even knew he was there, but he didn’t really care. All that mattered to him that Dream was safe, and alive.

He awoke to find his head tucked into the crook of Dream’s neck, with his upper body sitting in the bed and his lower slumped over the edge and sitting uncomfortably against the cold plastic of the bed frame. He forced himself off the bed and had a nice stretch before glancing over at Dream’s sleeping figure.

Wilbur had visited when Dream was asleep sometimes, of course, but the sight never ceased to amaze him. A large contrast to his frail but proud form, this version of Dream was a bit softer and less rigid than he was used to. Weirdly enough, it made the older boy want to cry.

“Hey, Dream. Wake up.” The blonde haired boy’s eyes stayed shut for a few seconds before eventually opening to meet Wilbur’s soft smile. “The sky is really nice today. I wanted you to see it before it went away.”

A raspy chuckle escaped Dream’s throat, only to be met with a small coughing fit. Nonetheless, he couldn’t help but match Wilbur’s smile with one of his own, causing the other’s expression to brighten.

Wilbur forced himself to look away from the sight that was sleepy Dream and began packing up his materials from last night. As he carefully fit his guitar into its styrofoam mold he heard a soft “hey” come from Dream. He latched his guitar case and walked back around the bed to see him up close.

“Hey to you,” he giggled. Dream playfully rolled his eyes and clutched the edge of Wilbur’s jacket with his left hand. “I just… wanted to say how much I appreciate you b-being here.” Wilbur’s expression softened even more than before as he let out a quiet aww.

“You made my life… so much happier, you know? You were the only one who-” A coughing fit interrupted his sentence. “-the only one who really seemed to care.” Dream averted his eyes; he might have a heart attack from how adorable Wilbur looked. “And… I think you’re really pretty. Overall, I just appreciate having you as a friend.”

Wilbur swore he could melt right then and there. Dream had flirted with him in the past, but never had he said a string of compliments so genuinely. He could feel his face begin to heat up, but he truly couldn’t care less.

“Dream, I- I don’t know what to say.” He giggled. “Uh, I appreciate it. Truly. You’ve made my life so much brighter ever since you came around. I never really had any friends who cared for me the way you do, and they sure as hell couldn’t compete with you if they tried.”

Dream let out a sound that half resembled a laugh, and reclined backwards in his bed with a happy sigh. "I'm gonna go get something to eat really quickly, okay?" Wilbur said. He received a small nod in response, and he took it as a sign to straighten from his leaning position on the nightstand and quietly exited the room.

A soft rumbling came from Wilbur's back pocket as he fished a protein bar out of a vending machine nearby. The boy quickly read over the caller ID and let out a groan before pressing accept.

"Oh Wilbur!"

"Hello, Tommy," Wilbur sighed.

"Big P's been asking where you been; I told him you were doing drugs."

"That's… not a good thing to tell our father figure, Tommy." Wilbur started walking back towards the room, phone in his right hand and breakfast in the other.

"Ah, well, he didn't really believe me anyways." A quiet shuffling sounded on the other side of the call before Tommy spoke again. "Tubbo's here too; Phil got us donuts and he ate all of your favorites.

A quiet "no i didn't." echoed through the receiver and Wilbur couldn't help but chuckle at Tommy's immediate response of cussing out his best friend.

"Well, tell Dadza I'll be back home in about an hour." Wilbur opened the door to Dream's room. "I had some business to take care of, so tell him I was just-"

"... Wilbur?"

"I'll call you back."

Wilbur hurriedly pressed the end call button and rushed over to Dream's side. The heart monitor that had been steady not even ten minutes ago was now flat, and the blonde haired boy hadn't moved when Wilbur entered.

"Dream? Dream, can you hear me?" Wilbur dropped the things he was holding and began clutching on the scrubs the other boy was dressed in. "Dream? Hello?"

Panic. Anxiety. Fear. He gently shook the other boy, but received no response.

“Dream, come on. Look at me, damn it, _I love you_ -”

Wilbur swore his vision nearly became white. His body wanted him to scream, to cry, to do literally anything but helplessly shake him with false hope that he was just in a deep sleep. His brain screamed to run to a doctor, to tell anyone, anyone who could save him or at least try _something_ -

Wilbur felt his knees buckle beneath him as he fell to the floor. Tears began to blur his vision, and quiet sobs racked his body as he desperately clutched onto the other boy's scrubs. He forced his body to rise and nearly stumbled over himself trying to lean against Dream's figure. Wilbur rested his head where he had woken up mere minutes ago as he continued to cry.

“I love you. I love you.”

Wilbur sat with Dream for a while longer than he'd like to admit. Maybe because he knew it was the last time he would ever see him again.


	3. (Wilhachu Angst) Unhinged

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Niki hadn't realized how much Wilbur had changed since the election began, and she sure as hell wasn't for ready for what he had become.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: none, just wilbur being a little bitch

“W-Will? What’s going on?”

Another firework exploded in the air behind her, causing Niki to jump at the sudden noise. The brown haired man turned halfway around to face her, eyes illuminated with flashes of blue and red. There was something different about Wilbur’s expression since the last time she’d seen him, which was what she assumed to be at least a couple weeks ago.

They weren’t as… calm, as they used to be. They didn’t hold the same type of underlying peace or assurance they had before the election. Instead they were a lot more unhinged, dangerous even. Niki could feel her skin crawl when he stared at her with such intensity she felt like prey having been spotted by a predator.

“Niki! You-” Wilbur was interrupted by another firework. This one exploded next to Niki’s feet, causing her to scream in pain. “What are you doing here? You know it isn’t safe here, you could get hurt.”

Clouds shielded the moon above their heads as screams rang throughout the festival plaza. Behind Wilbur stood a large podium, and in front of it stood a man in a pig mask and regal clothing. In his hand he held a crossbow, pointed towards the fray of panicking civilians. Behind him sat the bodies of Jschlatt and Quackity, the first two to go in what seemed to be a massacre.

The man on the podium loaded the crossbow with a green and gold firework, and as Niki’s mind raced to comprehend just what the hell was happening she was met with an arrow pointed directly at her heart. A hand grabbed her own and Niki was suddenly pulled backward. She stumbled over her own feet as she was dragged away from the plaza and into the lush greenery lining the edge of L’manburg.

Streaks of green filled the outside of her vision as they ran. Judging by the long tan jacket that almost slapped Niki in the face more than a few times as they picked up wind she could easily assume it was Wilbur who had dragged her out of the crossfire. A small smile graced her features; maybe he wasn’t as derailed as she had originally thought.  
Eventually the two reached a small hill in the middle of the forest. Only then did Wilbur let go of her hand, and as soon as he did Niki nearly collapsed onto the ground. She braced her arms on her knees and began taking sharp inhales. Her lungs heaved as she fought for breath; running through the forest nonstop for about ten minutes caused her legs to feel as if they were about to fall off.

“The resolution.”

Niki looked up from the disturbed grass beneath her to see Wilbur staring at her gasping figure. The shadows of night failed to hide the sadistic shimmer in his eyes. “It’s the resolution, Niki.” His jacket blew gently against his legs and his windswept hair partially covered his left eye.

“Wh-what?” Another gust of wind blew past them as Niki straightened upright to meet his gaze. “Will, what are you talking about-”

A loud rustle came from the bushes from behind where they came. Niki barely had time to turn around before she was met with a familiar pig mask. He barely even spared a glance at the blonde haired woman before pushing past them and digging into the side of the hill. Niki watched as a small cave was revealed, with a ragged orange blanket draped over a rickety looking bed tucked into one corner and a few chests in the other. In the back she could see a dip in the ground, which caused her to believe that it led to somewhere below.

“Wilbur? Wilbur!”

Not far behind him erupted Tommy. The boy held a diamond sword and a look of pure fury shadowed his face.

Wilbur’s head swerved at the sound of his name and smiled when he met Tommy’s eyes. “Tommy, welcome back! So, turns out I couldn’t find the button-”

The brown haired man was interrupted as he was shoved away by the boy and nearly stumbling onto the ground. Tommy glared daggers into Techno’s back as he turned to look at him. “Why are you still talking to him? This- this _traitor_?” He rose his diamond sword to his torso as the pink haired men drew his own.

Niki could practically feel the heated tension between the two as Wilbur let out a somewhat haughty laugh and pushed past them to enter the cave. “Come on now gentlemen, let’s not do this outside.” He motioned for the rest of them to follow, to which Niki reluctantly complied. Tommy and Techno walked in before her, but not without a few jabs to the side and angry glances sent each other’s way.

Wilbur led the way down a set of cobblestone stairs and a few wooden pathways before reaching the bottom of a long stretched ravine. Niki couldn’t help but stare at the lanterns softly illuminating their path and the misplaced chests and materials hidden in the crevices of the stone walls.

As they reached the bottom Wilbur motioned towards a small pit dug out in the corner of the ravine. “I dug all of this out just in case of this scenario.” He turned to face the trio and opened his arms as if he was asking for a hug.

“Go on then, fight! We have to get some kind of action in here, huh?”

It was then Niki noticed yet again that something was off. For one, the Wilbur she knew was never one to ask his citizens to _fight_ ; second, what was this talk about a button?

Tommy looked towards the pit, then back at Techno. He almost seemed to be considering it, which was scarier than anything Niki had seen that night. And she had watched Tubbo get publicly executed not even a few hours ago.

Niki walked around the two and looked up at Wilbur’s entertained expression. She looked into his soft brown eyes and realized that she had been wrong about him being less than unhinged. No, this was a man who had lost _everything_ , and from the way his gaze swerved from left to right before locking onto hers with an unchanging smirk told her that this wasn’t the brave but affectionate man that she knew during the revolution. This was a _monster_.

“Will, are you... “ Niki could feel tears begin to build in the back of her eyes as he laughed at her expression. “What’s wrong, Niki?” He asked. “You seem shocked.”

She opened her mouth, but before she could say anything the man grabbed her by her upper arms and forced her to keep eye contact. Shock and a small inkling of fear caused her feet to stay planted where they were.

“This is who I am now.” His smirk changed into a giddy grin as he shook her gently. “Don’t you understand? This-” He turned to look back at Tommy and Techno, who were now arguing loudly with their swords brandished in front of each other’s face.

“ _This_ has become my legacy. This is how I’ve chosen to lead.” He met eyes with her again, and Niki could feel her body try to shrink into itself at the borderline insane gaze she was given. “I’m a changed man, Niki. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Niki stumbled backwards as he released her from his hold. She nearly fell backwards into Tommy, who was now merely inches away from Techno’s face. A sense of helplessness overwhelmed her senses as she watched Wilbur walk away, a smile plastered onto his face.


	4. (Dreambur Fluff) Cottagecore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Being president of L'manburg comes with the overwhelming burden of responsibility, and Wilbur's unsure if he can actually handle it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tws: none
> 
> thank you to my friend toaster_fox on ao3 for being a lovely person and asking me to write this for them <3

Sunlight peeking through the windows of Wilbur’s small shack in the corner of L’manburg was always a pleasant sight and feeling to wake up to. The brown-haired man slowly felt his body begin to awaken as the sun-kissed his lightly toned face. A soft and sleepy smile graced his features. It was almost so peaceful, the way he rose from his short slumber, that he couldn’t hear the obnoxious slams on his front door a couple of rooms away.

The sound of frantic knocks floated through his house and beneath the small crack on the bottom of his door. A small sigh escaped Wilbur as he forced himself to rise and slip on his favorite fluffy white socks. It was too early for this, he grumbled to himself; he had only woken up a few minutes ago, and he wasn’t exactly keen on facing whatever challenge or threat he guessed was waiting at his door to ruin his lovely morning.

He opened his door to his bedroom and stepped into his living room. The knocks had continued throughout his short path through his house, and the man’s irritation was very quickly growing. Wilbur stepped awkwardly to the side to avoid the sleeping figure of a russet-colored fox sitting on his living room floor. He was babysitting Niki’s fox, Fungi, for the weekend as the blonde-haired woman had asked him to a few days ago, and who was he to refuse?

His house wasn’t big, consisting of just a bedroom, living room, and bathroom, but he couldn’t afford much else considering his country was on the losing side of the revolution.

He finally reached his front door and grabbed the handle. He turned it to the left and let it swing open, only to be met with a fist straight to his shoulder. Wilbur yelped in pain and turned to glare at a familiar blonde figure. “Tommy Innit,” he sighed. “I don’t appreciate being assaulted at only 6 or 7 in the morning-” “No time!” The teenager’s voice sounded squeakier than usual, which was quite a feat for Tommy, but his anxious tone caused Wilbur’s anger and exasperation to dissipate within seconds.

“Dream’s in front of L’manburg waiting for you!” The words rushed out of his mouth as he tried to talk as fast as humanly possible. “He said he wanted to talk about something but he didn’t say what- I think he has TNT, he was rummaging around in his pocket a little bit, it was kinda weird- and are you in your  _ jammies _ ?” Ah, never mind, his irritation was back.

“Jeez, Will, didn’t know you were a gray shirt and sweatpants type guy-” “Tell Dream I’ll meet him in five.” Wilbur didn’t hesitate to slam the door in the other’s face. Loud shouts and yells sounded from behind it immediately after, but the British man struggled to find an ounce of care in his body.

Wilbur walked back to his bedroom and grabbed his freshly washed L’manburg uniform from the hook on the back of his door. He took a quick glance at himself in the reflection of his window, which proved to be somewhat useless because of the glare on it, but he quickly adjusted his crooked hat on top of his fluffy brown hair and flashed himself a dazzling smile.

He glanced over at the battered iron sword leaning against the side of his bed, and with a quick second of hesitation, he grabbed it by the hilt and slid it into his leather scabbard. Better safe to be sorry, he assured himself. He was never one for armor; it was just unnecessary, in his eyes. L’manburg was based around the premise of using their words instead of their weapons anyway, but that hadn’t exactly been going well for them so far.

As soon as he shut the door to his house Wilbur felt the nerves begin to hit him. He had met Dream eye to eye many times before, but it didn’t stop the anxiety fluttering in his stomach at having to face the man who had blown up his nation multiple times and even planted seeds of doubt within their ranks by recruiting Eret as a spy. It was a mutual understanding between the two that he could tear L’manburg apart at any second; he was just playing with his pitiful prey.

It didn’t take long for a familiar green hoodie to appear on the horizon. Wilbur swallowed another clump of butterflies down his throat when the man turned his head to meet his gaze. The white mask Dream always wore was ominous, at best; it was particularly the eyes that caused chills to run down the British man’s spine. Nonetheless, he forced a neutral expression to appear on his face and stepped forward to meet him.

“Dream,” he muttered. “Wilbur.” His voice wasn’t intimidating by itself, but the glowing hue of his netherite armor combined with a similarly bright sword at his side wasn’t exactly reassuring either.

Wilbur sighed and raised a tired eyebrow. The fatigue of his somewhat harsh awakening was quickly beginning to catch up to him. “What can I do for you then?” he asked. “I’d hate to come off as rude, but I’m not up to seeing my nation crumble before my eyes at this exact moment.”

To his surprise, he heard a small chuckle escape from behind the smiley mask. Had- had he just gotten a  _ laugh  _ out of Dream? And it wasn’t even a smug cackle or anything along those lines; it had sounded genuine. That was a first.

“Ah, well, good thing I’m not here to do that just yet.” Dream’s tone was oddly laid back, causing Wilbur to be put slightly on edge. He attempted to move his hand towards his sword, but as soon as he did he was given a tilt of the other’s head. “I’m not here to fight, you Will. I guess I should’ve specified that.

Wilbur cocked his head in confusion. “Okay. Then what  _ are  _ you here for?” He desperately hoped this wasn’t a set up; L’manburg couldn’t take another loss after having been ripped apart by the SMP members, led by Eret.

“I’m here to make a proposal of sorts. Maybe in more ways than one, but that can wait.” Wilbur’s wary posture softened slightly. “Uh, okay? If it involves L’manburg getting blown up  _ again,  _ I don’t believe I’d be inclined to go through with it.” Another laugh. Damn, that was kinda cute.

“Here’s the thing. I’m interested in you, Soot.” Dream took a small step forward, causing Wilbur to take a larger step back. “In fact, I’m so interested in you…” They continued their little game of forwards and backward for a few moments before Wilbur’s back knocked against the back of a tree. Dream loomed above him, his eerie mask making the British man shiver.

“That I have a deal that I think you may be interested in.” Wilbur hesitated before clearing his throat. “Go on then. I’m listening.” His voice wobbled slightly, making the man want to cringe. He had broken rule number one of confrontation; never let your enemy see any signs of weakness. He really wasn’t that great at this whole thing, was he.”

“I give L’manburg its independence, and I supply your people with anything they need to continue to build your nation.”

Wilbur liked this proposal so far.

“And you come with me.”

Oh. Okay, not as much as he did a few seconds ago.

“Uh, right. So what would “‘coming with you’ entail then?” Wilbur asked, the butterflies in his stomach only evolving. “Well, let’s see.” Dream hummed almost sarcastically. “I have this nice little cottage in the woods, somewhat far from here, set up just for you. All you have to do is say the word, and I’ll take you there.”

A cottage, huh? Wilbur thought for a moment before mentally slapping himself. He wasn’t actually considering this, was he? He was a leader, the  _ president, _ of L’manburg. How could he just… leave? How selfish would that be of him?

Wilbur’s mouth flattened into a straight line. He used his right foot to propel against the tree and spun Dream around to switch their positions. The other man clearly didn’t expect it as he let out a small noise of surprise at the action and struggled to keep his footing.

“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” Wilbur whispered. “How do I know you won’t just slice my neck open as soon as we’re out of sight of these walls?” Dream was silent for a moment before he murmured back, “you don’t.”

“You know I can’t do that, Dream,” he sighed. “I have no reason to.” A few beats of silence passed. Wilbur looked down at his oppressor and noticed a gloved hand coming up to meet his face. Wilbur’s breath caught in his throat as he watched Dream use his thumb and pointer finger to gently lift up the bottom portion of his mask. 

Immediately he was met with a sight he thought he’d never see in all his life. Wilbur had never seen Dream’s face prior to the war, nor ever for that matter, so seeing it for the first time in a moment such as this made any words he could possibly have die on his tongue. What especially caught his eye was the faint blush that was still visible underneath the glaring sunlight of the early morning. His labored breathing only added to the astonishing second where they met and held eye contact.

“You just have to trust me.”

The tension between them increased tenfold with those words, causing Wilbur to fluster. He didn’t trust Dream, not one bit. He’s blown up L’manburg, he burnt down Tubbo’s house, he-

“Alright.” The words flew out of his mouth before he could even process them. Dream’s mouth curved into a small smile. “Good. I’m glad you decided to make the right choice, Soot.”

God, he hoped it was.

_____________

“Welcome to your new home, Will. It’s all yours.”

Wilbur’s anxious frown quickly morphed into a somewhat happier smile as he landed eyes on the cottage-his cottage now, apparently- that had been made just for him. The cottage itself was quite breathtaking, with white bricks stained with the juices of vines that hung off the sides and roof. A large clump of bushes was situated against the walls of the house, and a multitude of different flowers was scattered around the pathway and fences leading up to it. You could even see a glimpse of the farmland sitting near a river nearby.

It felt like home, Wilbur decided. It’s what he’s always wanted.

He hopped off of the horse Dream had used to bring him here and excitedly began looking around. He couldn’t help but be infatuated by all of the different plants and small animals that crisscrossed his path as he walked, and he could even hear the faint buzzing of a nearby bee's nest.

“You’re excited, I see,” Dream chuckled. Wilbur turned on his heel at the sound of the other’s voice and ran back to give him a hug. He had switched out his previous outfit for his old signature yellow sweater, but his uniform along with other memories from his time in L’manburg sat in the backpack slung around his shoulder.

“I am! Are you kidding, Dream, thank you!” Wilbur grinned, still holding the man in his arms. A soft laugh escaped Dream at the sight of his lover’s face and he raised a hand to cup his face. The two’s relationship had seemed to accelerate over the two or three days Wilbur took to prepare to leave, but they had yet to say the big L-word until a special occasion.

This seemed to be the one, as Wilbur gently nudged Dream’s mask off with one hand and pulled him impossibly closer with the other. Dream‘s smile only widened as he leaned up to kiss the other man. Wilbur sighed into the contact and fixed his hands to rest on Dream’s cheek.

The two stood there for a while before eventually separating for air. Wilbur couldn’t help but notice the soft flush that had taken over the other man’s skin tone. “I’ll see you again soon, yeah?” He whispered, his breath cool against Dream’s cheek. “Yeah, in a few days or so. I can help you get situated and everything if you want.”

Wilbur nodded frantically in response, causing Dream to laugh. “Yeah, I’d like that.” The two’s lips met again before Wilbur reluctantly let go and walked towards the door to his new cottage. “C’mon then,” he smiled. 

“Help me move this stuff inside, would you?”


	5. (Karlnap Angst/Fluff) Rapidly Beating Hearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karl has a panic attack and Sapnap is forced to watch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: panic attacks, self deprecation, just karl being harshly critical of himself

Karl was tired.

He was scrolling through his Twitter when he came across another “hot takes” post for what felt like the twelfth time that day. This one, he noted, was by yet another dream team stan account similar to many he'd seen in the past. The post read “ _ is it just me or has the quality of mr. beast’s videos gone down ever since karl joined? it’s just not the same and honestly i don’t think he really brings much to the channel :/”. _

Karl’s eyes glazed over with a dull hurt, hands shaking as he clicked on the post and scrolled down to see everyone agreeing and making their own snide comments about his role on the channel. It wasn’t the first time he had seen things like this; quite the opposite, actually. But he had already woken up in a somewhat bad mood this morning, so seeing unwarranted tweets on his timeline like this was less than motivational.

His bones seemed to weigh nearly thousands of pounds and a deep sense of exhaustion filled his body as he sluggishly closed Twitter and changed his sitting position to lay on his back. Karl’s comforter draped over his body, but it did little to drive away the sharp and cold sensation that caused goosebumps to rise on his pale skin. He felt like literal death in that exact moment, which isn’t an exactly good feeling to have this early in the morning.

Karl forced himself out of bed with a soft whine. He might as well try and do something productive before he found himself confined beneath his blankets for the rest of the day. He slid into the chair at his desk, turning on his pc, then his monitor. Immediately he was met with flashing red, white, and green colors dancing across his screen and he couldn’t help but smile. His new Christmas background he had installed only a few days ago didn’t fail to bring at least a little bit of joy to his otherwise dreary morning.

He loaded up Discord, as well as Twitch and Minecraft. Karl glanced over at the sidebar on the left of his screen and noticed that Quackity was streaming on the SMP. He brightened up a bit at the thought of talking to one of the people that he considered to be his best friend and loaded up his forever favorite block game.

The place he had logged out at was the same as before, nearby the new and improved White House. He tabbed out quickly and flipped to the window that had Twitch open. Quackity didn’t seem to be doing anything important-probably trying to sell an unsuspecting member of the SMP drugs, he laughed to himself-but he noticed a familiar black-haired avatar running next to him. It seemed Sapnap was on the stream as well.

Karl switched back to the game and ran around for a few minutes, mostly trying to clear his head. For some reason he felt somewhat anxious at the thought of just straight up joining the call without asking; he didn’t know why. The brown haired man simply resorted to DMing Quackity in-game and was eagerly urged to join not even five seconds later.

As soon as he joined the Discord call he was hit with a loud yell. “Karlos!” Quackity shouted, excitement and adrenaline coursing through his voice. Karl knew this wasn’t how the other man typically acted, but he supposed it made for a fun streaming session. “Quack-meister!” He attempted to shout back with about as much fervor, but his tone fell flat compared to the other two’s screeches of fear.

“What’s going on?” He asked, opening his inventory and dragging an almost broken set of iron armor into their proper slots. “Quackity!” Sapnap screeched, causing the older man to assume they had begun hitting each other. “C’mon man, we gotta run! Tubbo busted our new drug business!” Karl shook his head. “Another one?” He whispered half to himself.

“Yes, another one!” “Where are you guys?” Karl frowned when he received no answer and was instead drowned out by insistent yelling. “This is all your fault,  Sapnap!” The Texan huffed loudly in response and took to hitting Quackity’s avatar again. “How is it my fault? You’re the one who actually tried to sell  _ drugs  _ to a  _ child president _ !” The black-haired man let out one of his signature laughs. “L-Listen man, I didn’t know he would say no,” he mumbled especially close to his mic, causing Karl to shiver.

“Hey, guys-” Karl was cut off yet again by Quackity yelling his name. “Karl, where are you? We’re at Mexican L’manburg-” “It’s El Rapids now, you dumb honk!” Sapnap interrupted him, causing the black-haired man to start screeching multiple complaints and halfhearted insults that Karl couldn’t bother to try and decipher. Instead, he silently started running through the SMP and to Eret's infamous castle. He got there only to watch Sapnap land a critical hit on Quackity with his axe and witness his body fall on the floor. “What the honk, guys?” He laughed. “I just got here!"

Sapnap just growled in a way that caused a small flower of heat to bloom near Karl’s collarbone and walked over to his Minecraft fiance’s character. “He called me a bitch baby, Karl!” The younger man complained. His voice grew higher in pitch until he reached his typical whiny voice as he crouched in front of Karl and let his avatar’s head droop. “I’m sad now, Karl, comfort me,” he grumbled, making the brown-haired man laugh.

“Your Spotify playlist says different, bitch! What the hell is even on there, shitty rap music from 2016?” Quackity yelled cheekily. Sapnap immediately straightened and started sprinting away and out of the castle. “Come here and say it to my face!” He screeched, his tone indicating a hint of dangerous intent. Karl was taken by surprise for a moment before taking off after the Texan.

“So, uh, what were you guys planning on doing for the stream other than-” his voice faltered for what felt like the thousandth time this session as the other two men got into  _ another  _ screaming match. Karl silently thanked himself for not deciding to stream today; he wasn’t sure he could take being broadcasted with the amount of pure annoyance and sadness that had surely begun to appear on his face. That had always been one of the many things he’d been insecure about ever since he was a kid; just a quick glance his way and anyone could immediately tell what he was thinking or feeling. Some said that flaws like that were sure signs of an empath; Karl just wasn’t fond of being read like a damn book every time he was upset.

Karl could feel raw emotion begin to build up in his throat and chest as he continued to be flat out ignored. This was stupid, he told himself as he muted his mic on Discord and raised a sweater-clad arm to wipe an oncoming tear that began a long trip down his cheek and onto the floor. He shouldn’t feel this emotional over being talked over a few times; it was almost childish, the way he was reacting. Even so, the brown-haired man couldn’t help the waves of pain that flooded his chest and caused his eyes to water with tears. 

“Hey, um-” “You dumb motherfucker!” Those three little words caused Karl to snap. Even if it wasn’t directed towards him, the emotional distress that had begun to build up ever since he joined the call finally started to overflow. His mic stayed muted as he dragged his mouse toward the “end call” button and clicked out of Minecraft. His chest heaved as all of the applications on his computer closed and his background that he had praised not even half an hour ago made him want to vomit just at the sight of it.

His computer powered off automatically, and the soft cries he had held in for a while were released into the air. All of his breath escaped his lungs as tears streaked violently down his face. The red hot emotion that he felt deep within his chest only worsened when a soft  _ ding  _ sounded from his phone still sitting on his bed.

His head quickly grew fuzzy and his eyesight became clouded as he struggled to rise from his chair and collapse onto his bed. There were a few messages that appeared on his home screen when he unlocked his phone, two from Sapnap and three or four Twitter notifications that he couldn’t be bothered to read. Karl could barely even type in his password through the burning pain that had begun to build up behind his eyes.

**_From: sapnap :), 12:51 PM_ **

_ Hey, you ok? _

**_From: sapnap :), 12:51 PM_ **

_ Call me when you can, i’m worried :( _

Karl struggled to register just what he was reading as he could feel thoughts begin to cloud his mind. He had no place on the SMP. He didn’t deserve to be friends with Dream and the others. He didn’t deserve to be friends with anyone. If anything he was so selfish for even considering people cared about him, they probably didn’t, they all  _ hated  _ him-

He jumped at the classic sound of an outgoing Facetime call ringing softly through the speakers on his phone. He didn’t even remember ever pressing the call button, why was-

His pointer finger seemed to move on its own as it gingerly pressed the accept button. With only a few seconds of delay, the familiar image of Sapnap appeared on his phone screen. They had only facetimed a few times before, but every time only seemed to fuel the heat in Karl’s stomach that had only seemed to blossom ever since he’d joined the SMP. The other man was wearing a black hoodie and gray sweatpants with a small tomato sauce stain on his upper thigh. Karl didn’t pay much mind to it and instead focused on the somewhat blurred image of his Minecraft fiance’s face.

“Hey, Karl,” Sapnap greeted him, voice slightly warped because of the sound quality of his phone. “You left the call kind of out of nowhere, so I just wanted to make sure-” He looked down at his phone and immediately took on a panicked and pitiful expression. “Woah, are you okay? Hold on, I need to get my headphones…” A small sob racked Karl’s body at the concern that laced the other’s tone; he wasn’t exactly fond of being pitied, but just the thought of someone worrying about him made his heart hurt in an almost bittersweet way.

“Yeah, take your time,” he whispered. His voice was surprisingly raw for what had felt like such a short panic attack. It almost made him want to cringe. What was he  _ doing _ ? He couldn’t have anyone see him like this, they didn’t care, he’s nothing but a burden-

His thoughts were cut off by Sapnap returning to his phone and inserting his headphone jack with a soft noise of satisfaction. “Okay, I’m back,” he said, his voice much clearer than before. “What’s going on man?” The Texan’s voice was soft, and Karl slightly raised his head off his pillow only to burrow back into it as the look of pure concern in the other’s eyes. He was quickly becoming overwhelmed again, with the stress of being so vulnerable in front of another person combined with Sapnap slowly becoming emotional as well. 

“I-It’s nothing, really-” Karl’s own voice caused him to spiral into his own head once more. Blood began rushing to his ears, and his heart felt like it was about to beat out of his chest. A sense of dread overwhelmed his senses, causing him to start gasping for air. What was wrong with him? This wasn’t his first panic attack, but it was certainly one of his most intense, he thought as he felt flashes of heat and chills zigzag up and down his body.

His vision became even cloudier than before, but this type was almost like he was looking through a fish eye lens on a camera. Tears began streaming down his face again, causing the tear stains that streaked down his cheeks and down onto the bottom of his chin to only grow in size. All of the breath felt like it was knocked out of his lungs, and bile rose in his throat. He couldn’t breathe, oh God, he was going to  _ die _ -

“Karl? Karl!”

The sound of Sapnap’s scream caused Karl to almost jump out of his skin. Goosebumps made a path down his arms and legs, even though the temperature in his room was basically lukewarm. He looked down at his phone once more and immediately let out an exasperated groan at the sight of the Texan.

“God, I’m so sorry, Sap,” he whispered. “I- you really shouldn’t be seeing me like this.” His breath came in uneven shudders and his lungs heaved as they fought for air. “I’m so…  _ pathetic _ ,” he whispered. An awkward chuckle escaped his lips as he averted his eyes away from his phone. 

A few moments of silence passed between them and Karl was quickly beginning to regret waking up this morning. He had just ruined everything between them, hadn’t he? Of course he did, he ruined everything. All of his friendships, relationships, hell, even the SMP.

“Hey, Karl?” Sapnap murmured. “Can you try and take a few deep breaths for me, please? I can practically hear you thinking over there.” Karl laughed again, but to himself it sounded like a shattered music disc that was desperately screeching against a broken record player. 

“Um, yeah, I… I think so.” Karl took a sharp inhale of air and let it escape slowly out of his nose. He couldn’t help but sigh at his own idiocy. This was so  _ dumb _ ; he didn’t even know why Sapnap considered him a friend at this point. He was so annoying, just breathing on Facetime while the Texan watched out of the corner of his eye. So, incredibly, dumb.

Huh. Just like him.

Regardless of his own self-critical thoughts, Karl forced himself to continue taking deep breaths, and eventually he could feel his heart return to its normal rate. As soon as he settled back in his spot on his bed, deciding to adamantly ignore the tear stains on his pillows, Sapnap sighed and shifted in his chair where he was sitting. “Are you feeling okay now?” He asked, his tone careful as he tried to gauge his friend’s current emotional state.

“Yeah, I’m feeling a bit better,” Karl mumbled. “Sorry about that, I’m just having a bit of a bad day.” He shrugged with one shoulder and attempted to put a smile on his face. “Thanks for, uh, staying, I guess.” Sapnap nodded, his expression still tentative. “Of course, man. I care about you, and it kind of sucks to see you like this,” he admitted quietly. “I wish I could’ve actually been there to actually help.”

Karl rapidly shook his head and took his phone in his hands. “Don’t like that!” He gently scolded the other man. “You helped a lot by just being here and all, so I appreciate it.” A soft smile appeared on Sapnap’s face, causing Karl’s already red cheeks to only darken in shade. 

“Mm, I guess so.” The Texan shrugged. “But, for the record,” he added, “I don’t think you’re pathetic or anything like that.” Karl flushed at the other’s words. Oh, he had said that out loud, hadn’t he? Well then,  _ that  _ was awkward.

“Haha, well-” “I actually think you’re quite cute.” Karl’s arm shot from holding the back of his head to slapping it over his mouth. The action made a boisterous laugh escape Sapnap’s chest, and the older man shielded his face from view by pulling his sweater up to his nose. His blush only intensified, spreading to his lower cheekbones and up the sides of his neck. He almost felt the need to curl up into a ball similar to a cat in both embarrassment and slight glee at the compliment.

“I, uh- You really think so?” He whispered into the phone. Sapnap straightened his posture at Karl’s tone and breathed out a small huff of air through his mouth. “Um, yeah. I do, actually.” He admitted. Karl whimpered in response. 

“Have I taken it a bit far?” Sapnap whispered. “I’m sorry, I was just being honest.”

Karl sharply exhaled through his nose and let out a flustered giggle. “No, you’re-” He giggled excitedly once more. “You’re okay.”

Sapnap grinned fondly. “Okay.”

“Okay.”

Tension filled silence filled the gap between words as the two struggled to find what to say next. Karl let his sweater slide down from his face and back into its proper position on his collarbone, allowing his nearly pure red face to be exposed. Sapnap felt the urge to sigh with infatuation at the sight. 

“Well, um,” Karl mumbled in embarrassment. “You’re really cute as well. And handsome too.” Sapnap raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Yeah?” He chuckled.

“Yeah.”

Yeah.


End file.
